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LocalEyes
Local – The Final Frontier! One of the great paradoxes of this digital age is that even though we have so many methods of communication available to us, we still cannot easily consult any geographical area. We cannot quickly consult a community or a town on what it wants or how it feels about any particular topic using web, email or mobile technologies. Consequently, there is often little or no dialogue between our governing councils (at all levels), and the residents they represent. In addition to this, many new social enterprises are either slow to emerge, or are not initiated for fear of lack of interest or because it will be too much effort to rally the required support. It is often stated that public opinion and action is the largest superpower on the planet, but still, to this day, it is largely uncoordinated. This is simply because the technology required to facilitate this type of communication, which simply consults with the residents of a community on a regular basis, enabling demand for services to be identified and public opinion to be coordinated, has not yet been invested in and made readily available … UNTIL NOW! Community Building tools This tool, called the VOICE is one of various “Community Building” tools within the LocalEyes toolkit. It can be used to set “trigger levels” for any new initiative, i.e. I will need 12 people get a new community choir off the ground, 50 people to start a new organic food box scheme or 500 people to agree to buy my electricity and ensure the success of erecting a wind turbine locally. The VOICE enables people to create their campaign, post their arguments for and against and use technology to great effect to engage local people conveniently. For an example of a campaign see: here For a pictorial view of the extensive range of services LocalEyes will eventually be offering, please view the following screenshot: here Recent news (November 30 2008) Somerset County Council recently invested in this online empowerment voting software. Led by Transition Glastonbury, pilots of the VOICE are due to start early in the New Year, starting in secondary schools, empowering the youth, then in social groups and eventually piloting in the geographical communities within Glastonbury, Street and Frome. The Ministry of Justice have also agreed to fund pilot projects, again led by Transition towns, in the areas of Totnes, IvyBridge, Torquay, Glastonbury and Pembrokeshire with the aim of “Building Democracy”. Just this week, Artists Project Earth (APEUK) agreed to fund more LocalEyes pilots, initiated by Transition Towns. If you think your group might be interested in running a LocalEyes pilot, please contact us ASAP!. Two small pilots of the VOICE have been successfully completed so far. The reports of which can be viewed via the LocalEyes website : Kids VOICE, Community VOICE: As well as winning Millennium Awards Level 1 & 2 from UnLtd and the TalkTalk Innovation in the Community Award from Citizens Online, LocalEyes was also short listed for “The Revolutionary Award” in Gordon Brown’s recent social innovation awards. The project was given a special commendation as “The One to Watch” and of the 24 nominees in the entire competition, was 1 of 3 projects to be awarded ongoing support by NESTA, “making innovation flourish”. Involvement opportunities Contact LocalEyes if you are interested in either: * Running a pilot project in your area * Helping LocalEyes go to scale * Collaborating and becoming a partner * Sponsoring local communities, schools and social groups External links *LocalEyes References *Press Release: "Local, The Final Frontier", Localeyes, November 30 2009 Category:UK networks and projects Category:Community involvement